It’s Day 2 of everyone’s favorite basketball tourney, which means promos galore over on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
That includes King of the Dogs, where $2 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opted in and placed their token on a moneyline bet on the lowest-seeded team to advance today in the tournament.
DraftKings’ King of the Dogs is set to run three times this week: Thursday, Friday and for the entirety of Round 2 on Saturday and Sunday.
On Thursday, High Point University was King of the Dogs! All 11,832 High Point bettors have received $170 in Bonus Bets, and you can catch up on all the drama from Day 1 of the contest by checking out Thursday’s King of the Dogs tracker.
Who will end Day 2 as King of the Dogs? Follow along below!
King of the Dogs Preview
DraftKings Network’s Dan Johnson broke down Day 2’s slate of games and highlighted the following teams as King of the Dogs options:
- No. 11 Miami (OH) over No. 6 Tennessee
- No. 13 Cal Baptist over No. 4 Kansas
Here’s what the public is thinking:
King of the Dogs Live Updates
Big Bonus Bets Secured!
After Friday’s action, Iowa and Utah State were crowned King of the Dogs! The 5,989 bettors who used their token on one of those two teams will receive $340 in Bonus Bets.
Hawkeyes and Aggies Hold Strong (12:57 a.m. ET)
Despite some close games to end the night, there weren’t any more upsets. UConn, Kansas, Florida and Miami won, which means Friday’s King of the Dogs ends in a tie. Iowa and Utah State tie for first as both No. 9 seeds won earlier.
If you placed a pregame wager on either Iowa or Utah State, you will win a share of the $2 million prize pool for Friday’s slate.
Hawkeyes Match Aggies for the Top Spot (9:10 p.m. ET)
The No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes tied the No. 9 Utah State Aggies for the top spot in the King of the Dogs leaderboard. Iowa knocked off Clemson, 67-61. The Hawkeyes used a balanced attack led by Bennett Stirtz (16 points), Kael Combs (15 points), and Alavaro Folgueiras (14 points).
Like the Aggies earlier in the day, the Hawkeyes did pull the upset according to the tournament seeding, but they were actually favored by 1.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The other three current games all seem to be tilted towards the higher seed. St. Johns, UCLA, and Purdue all seem to be in control over Northern Iowa, UCF and Queens University, respectively. UCF has closed to single-digits a few times, but are running out of time for a late push. Barring a comeback, we’ll hit the last wave of games with a tie at the top of the leaderboard for the Kings of the Dogs.
The higher seeds have been dominating today, and the four remaining teams that could claim the Kings of the Dogs with a win in the nightcap are Prairie View A&M, California Baptist University, Furman, and Missouri. If any of those teams win, they’ll claim the title, but if not, bettors who placed their tokens on Utah State or Iowa will split the $2 million in bonus bets.
Hawkeye Heroes (7:40 p.m. ET)
The No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to join the No. 9 Utah State Aggies as the lowest seed to advance so far this Friday. They would match Utah State at the top of the King of the Dogs leaderboard if they can hold on to beat No. 8 Clemson. At halftime, the Hawkeyes have a 32-25 lead.
Sorry, Ohio (7:00 p.m. ET)
Bad news for the Buckeye State:
We Have Our First Dog of the Day! (6:30 p.m. ET)
After the higher seeds won the first seven matchups of the day, we have our first upset of the day! No. 9 Utah State defeated No. 8 Villanova, 86-76, in San Diego.
Utah State got 22 points from Mason Falslev and 20 points from MJ Collins Jr. to claim the victory over Villanova, who was led by Bryce Lindsay’s 25 points in defeat.
While the seeding makes this an upset, on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Aggies were actually 1.5-point favorites, and they had 55% of the handle on the Moneyline and 69% of the handle on the points line, based on the splits available on DK Network earlier in the day.
Utah State is officially now the leader in the King of the Dogs contest, but eight more games are on tap tonight, with eight teams that can either match (Iowa) or have a lower seed than Utah State. It doesn’t seem likely they’ll hold on based on the usual level of upset, but stay tuned to see how it all plays out.
Can USU be the One? (6:25 p.m. ET)
While a No. 9 seed upsetting a No. 8 seed isn’t a huge underdog story, the Utah State Aggies are closing in on being the first winner of the day with a lower seed.
The Aggies are up seven points with 2:01 to play over the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats. After a chalky start to the day, whoever wins this matchup will be the King of the Dogs heading into the eight games on the scoreboard on Friday night.
Still Waiting for the Dogs to Arrive (6:06 p.m. ET)
It doesn’t look like Miami (OH) will be the King of the Dogs on this day. The 32-1 Redhawks trail No. 6 seed Tennessee, 60-36, with just under 12 minutes to go in the second half.
The matchup between No. 9 Utah State and No. 8 Villanova has been one of the closest games of the day so far, and ‘Nova has a three-point lead with 6:54 remaining at the Official TV Timeout. Whoever wins that game will take over the lead on the King of the Dogs leaderboard, since they will be the highest seed to advance so far today.
In the very unlikely event that all the lower seeds win on the scoreboard, the King of the Dogs Crown would be shared by Villanova and Clemson as the two No. 8 seeds in play this Friday. That doesn’t seem likely, though, since so many upsets typically happen in the opening days of the tournament. There are still plenty of potential dogs on the scoreboard tonight, but for now, the contest remains wide open.
Nobody Let the Dogs Out? (5:00 p.m. ET)
Lower seeds continue to dominate this Friday. No. 2 Iowa State is cruising to a big win over Tennessee State, with a lead of over 30 points with under 10 minu
Lower seeds continue to dominate this Friday. No. 2 Iowa State is cruising to a big win over Tennessee State, with a lead of over 30 points with under 10 minutes remaining. No. 4 Alabama has recovered after a big early deficit and leads by 10 points with under 12 minutes remaining in their game.
The two most recent top-offs that are still in the first half are close contests, with No. 6 Tennessee opening up a six-point lead on No. 11 seed Miami (OH). The other game could be our first upset, according to seeding, if the No. 9 Utah State Aggies can hold on to defeat the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats. With five minutes before halftime, USU has a three-point lead and still has a very long way to go.
Officially, either Utah State or Villanova will take the lead on the King of the Dogs leaderboard, since they’ll be the lowest seed to advance. On the evening slate, a new slate of underdogs will take the court, though, and right now, any one of them that pulls the upset has a good chance to claim the King of the Dogs title.
Virginia Avoids the Upset (4:10 p.m. ET)
While Wright State did a great job keeping it close, Virginia ultimately pulled out the 82-73 first-round win behind 26 points from Jacari White off the bench. White hit six three-pointers, while the rest of the team went 7-for-18 (39%) from long range.
With Virginia’s win, the top seed has claimed the victory in each of the first four games to go final, so we’re still searching for our first underdog to get the win.
In the two live games right now, No. 2 Iowa State is crushing Tennessee State, 55-29, while No. 4 Alabama was able to catch up with Hofstra and grab a two-point lead at the break after trailing by 10.
If you’re familiar with this tournament, you know…. the upsets are coming! We’re just still waiting for the first one of Friday.
Hofstra’s Hot Start (3:50 p.m. ET)
Do we have an upset brewing in Tampa? The No. 13-seeded Hofstra Pride have roared out to a lead early over No. 4 seed Alabama.
The Crimson Tide typically score plenty of points, and there is a long way to go in this one, but Hofstra definitely looks like a team that is going to make this close and could even snag the top spot in our King of the Dogs leaderboard, where we’re still waiting for our first lower-seed victory of this Friday.
Does Wright State Have the Right Stuff? (3:30 p.m. ET)
After Texas Tech rolled to a 91-71 win over No. 12 Akron, we’re still in search of our first underdog winner of this Friday. No. 16 Long Island University doesn’t look like they’ll be the ultimate underdog by knocking off No. 1 Arizona, with the Wildcats firmly in control of that contest.
The one underdog in a close game at this point is Wright State against Virginia. The No. 14 Raiders had a five-point lead at halftime, but Virginia has taken a one-point lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. Soloman Callaghan has 16 points in 19 minutes for Wright State, and he’ll need to step up down the stretch if Wright State is going to take the lead in our King of the Dogs contests this Friday.
Kentucky escapes (2:44 p.m. ET)
Santa Clara came o so close to fractions of a second from pulling off a huge upset to get the day started, but ultimately Kentucky survived and advanced after an 89-84 win in overtime.
Otega Oweh was incredible for the Wildcats, hitting the buzzer beater to force overtime and finishing with 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Brandon Garrison came up with two key blocks in overtime and finished with six blocked shots and seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Since Sanata Clara won’t be the King of the Dogs, let’s focus on the rest of the games on the board. Texas Tech and Arizona are taking care of business against Akron and Long Island University, respectively, with comfortable leads.
However, in the No. 3 vs. No. 14 matchup in Philadelphia, the Wright State Raisers are up 43-38 at halftime over the Virginia Cavaliers. Can Wright State claim the early lead in our King of the Underdogs leaderboard? The second half should be a great one as Virginia tries to battle back.
OVERTIME! (2:20 p.m. ET)
We’ve already got peak drama in the first matchup of the day between the No. 10 seed Santa Clara Broncos and the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats. The two teams have been battling all game, and traded buzzer-beater three-pointers at the end of regulation.
Santa Clara is looking to take an early lead in the King of the Dogs leaderboard, but Kentucky isn’t quite ready to go home just yet. More drama to come in overtime!
UK OK? (1:55 p.m. ET)
Just when it looked like Kentucky had things back under control in the first game of the day, Santa Clara went on a 12-4 run to take a four-point lead at the TV Timeout at 7:47 remaining.
While Brandon Garrison has the highlight reel dunk below, the No. 10-seeded Broncos are still threatening to stake an early claim to the top of the King of the Dogs leaderboard.
Sweating Santa Clara? (1:20 p.m. ET)
Santa Clara could be an early upset after grabbing a two-point lead over Kentucky at halftime. While the Wilcats still have plenty of time, almost 70% of brackets are getting the early sweat going this Friday.
Tipoffs in the Midwest (1:12 p.m. ET)
Two games are underway in the first action of Friday’s bracket scoreboard. Underdog Santa Clara has a two-point plead over Kentucky at half time, while the Red Raiders of Texas Tech are looking to hold off Akron with a 29-22 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
Santa Clara is a No. 10 seed, and they could be the early leader in the race to be King of the Dogs if they hold on. Here’s a rundown of all the games for this Thursday and where to find them:
How to Play King of the Dogs
- Opt in to receive your King of the Dogs token in the Promotions page
- Make a moneyline bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- The lowest seeded team to advance to the next round will be considered the King of the Dogs
- If the team you wagered on with your token is crowned King of the Dogs, you’ll win a share of $2 million
For more information on this promo, click here!
